Qu Wanyue was in the princess mansion when she came to this world. She was a dancer, her parents were both dead, and she made a living by dancing and performing arts. A few years ago, the ninth princess passed by Kyoto, and Qu Wanyue happened to be bullied. The princess
Seeing that she was pitiful, he bought her and made her a maid. She usually took care of the princess's daily life and taught her some dances.
That day, the princess suddenly wanted to go out on the street, and Qu Wanyue accompanied her. As a result, when she went to buy clothes, she happened to meet Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou and his wife. The princess made a sarcastic comment, but Yu Hanjiang retorted.
At that time, Qu Wanyue happened to turn around to buy cookies for the princess and was not with her. When she came back, she saw the ninth princess with a dark face and said angrily: "I want to go to Jiangzhou too!"
Qu Wanyue didn't know why. But as the princess's maid, she could only keep up with the princess.
On the way, she heard the Ninth Princess scold Master Yu for being blind and ignorant, and then she realized that Captain Yu was also going to Jiangzhou.
It seemed that the crime took place in Jiangzhou. Qu Wanyue followed the princess to Jiangzhou with peace of mind. It was not until she saw Long Sen at the gate of the palace that she confirmed her suspicion.
***
After Yu Hanjiang, Xiao Lou and Mo Xuemin entered the palace, they asked their servants to inform the Eighth Prince that Yu Hanjiang, the prefect of Jiangzhou, was visiting.
When the butler in charge of reception in the palace heard that he was the new prefect, he immediately and respectfully brought the three of them to a side hall to settle down, poured tea, and then turned around to report to the prince.
After a while, a middle-aged man strode into the side hall.
The three of them met the legendary Eighth Prince for the first time - a middle-aged man in his forties who was tall and muscular, wearing a rich jade robe, which made his features even more handsome.
Yu Hanjiang and the others immediately bowed and saluted: "I have met the prince."
The prince smiled and said: "No need to be polite." He looked at Yu Hanjiang with admiration in his eyes: "Is this Mr. Yu? His Majesty often mentions you in his letters, and I have also heard about some of your great deeds.
He was the top scorer in high school at the age of 19 and was promoted to the prefect of Jiangzhou within a few years. Mr. Yu is really young and promising!"
"The prince has given you too much praise." Yu Hanjiang brought Xiao Lou and Mo Xuemin in front of him and introduced to the prince: "This is my wife Xiao Lou, and this is Master Mo from the prefect. Weichen brought them together to congratulate the prince.
birthday."
After saying that, he gave the prepared congratulatory gifts to the prince, which were famous calligraphy and paintings brought from Kyoto. As an upright official, it was not easy for him to buy anything too expensive. He heard that the prince liked calligraphy and painting, so he gave the calligraphy and painting collection at home to the prince.
I brought one.
The prince asked his entourage to accept the gift and said with a smile: "Master Yu, you are so polite. You are so tired from traveling and traveling. I should have hosted a banquet for you. Unfortunately, the palace is busy these days, and it is difficult for me to get away."
In a few days, I will definitely invite you to come and sit at my house again."
The Eighth Prince had no royal airs at all. He was very polite to Yu Hanjiang and his smile looked very kind.
This smile reminded Yu Hanjiang of the emperor sitting on the dragon throne in Kyoto. He was also smiling and could not tell whether he was happy or angry. As expected, those who could survive the royal struggle were all human beings.
Yu Hanjiang lowered his voice and got down to business: "Your Majesty, your Majesty has a few more words for you to convey to me."
The Eighth Prince understood and said: "Master Yu, please go to the study with me to talk. As for Madam and Master..." He turned to look at the maid beside him and said: "Caiyue, take Madam and Master to the garden.
Go shopping and entertain your two distinguished guests."
Caiyue responded, turned around and left with Xiao Lou and Mo Xuemin.
Yu Hanjiang followed the prince to the study, took out the sealed letter from his arms, and handed it to him with both hands respectfully: "His Majesty asked the minister to deliver this sealed letter to the prince."
"Oh? A secret letter?" The eighth prince immediately took the letter from Yu Hanjiang. After opening the secret letter, he frowned slightly. He didn't know what the secret letter mentioned, and the prince's expression became a little serious.
His eyes quickly scanned the letter, and then he put away the secret letter, smiled slightly, and said: "Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Yu. I haven't returned to the capital for four years, so it's time to go back to the capital for a visit."
Next, the prince politely asked some questions about the emperor's situation, expressing his care as the emperor's uncle. I don't know if he really cares, or if he is just showing it to Yu Hanjiang. Regarding the government affairs of the court, there are also some important decisions of the court.
, he didn't mention it at all, they all said that he was an idle prince who didn't care about political affairs. It seems that the rumors were true.
***
At the same time, Xiao Lou and Mo Xuemin were admiring flowers in the palace with the maid.
The area of the Zhenjiang Prince's Palace is astonishingly large. The whole palace has a quiet environment, with pavilions, pavilions, trees, and flower beds arranged in an orderly manner. The garden planning is extremely particular, and there are also some Feng Shui layouts hidden in it, which are obviously specially designed.
.
Mo Xuemin studied design. When he saw this courtyard, he couldn't help but whisper in Xiao Lou's ear: "The planning and design of this courtyard is very reasonable. It must have cost a huge amount of money to build. It is almost as good as the People's Park in our city."
."
Xiao Lou also felt that walking in the courtyard was full of scenery, which made people feel relaxed and happy.
There is a huge lotus pond in the middle of the yard. It is early autumn and the pond is full of lotus flowers. Walking on the cobblestone path beside the pond, you can still smell the fragrance of lotus flowers. There are stone tables and benches beside the lotus pond, and the breeze
In the shop, Xiao Lou and Mo Xuemin simply sat down to enjoy the flowers, and the maid thoughtfully brought them several plates of washed fruits.
At this moment, a thin woman with a white veil on her face passed by the lotus pond. Following her was Liu Qiao with a neat ponytail. Liu Qiao also carried a medicine basket in his hand.
Xiao Lou and Liu Qiao looked at each other and understood each other tacitly - it seemed that the person next to Liu Qiao was the Fourth Miss Qi Yiwei.
As the daughter of the royal family, she is dressed very simply and elegantly. She wears a white dress with only simple silver dark patterns on it. There are no gorgeous hairpins in her hair, only a wooden hairpin.
The white gauze covered most of her face, leaving only her eyes and eyebrows exposed.
She glanced in the direction of Xiao Lou. Her eyes were clear and smart, and with her curved eyebrows, she had a pretty and graceful temperament. She was obviously a little beauty, but I didn't know why she kept covering her face with a veil.
Liu Qiao followed the fourth lady and walked away quickly.
Since the fourth lady has Liu Qiao, there is no need to worry about missing clues. Xiao Lou is very relieved about Liu Qiao.
The palace is too big, so we need to understand the terrain first.
Xiao Lou came up with a plan and suddenly said: "I want to go to the toilet, please Miss Caiyue to show me the way."
"Okay, Madam, please come this way." The maid immediately took Xiao Lou to the backyard.
The toilet in the palace was built in a very hidden place. It was impossible for the maid to follow Xiao Lou in. After pointing the way, she waited outside. Xiao Lou used an invisibility cloak at the corner, put on his acceleration shoes, and used this time to quickly move around the palace.
The ground turned around.
The Zhenjiang Prince's Mansion was really too big. He had limited time and only explored the backyard.
There are courtyards in the east, west, south and north directions of the backyard, all with very literary names. They are the residences of ladies and ladies. There is a small Buddhist hall in the most secluded corner. Xiao Lou saw a girl with a dignified appearance.
She was banging wooden fish and chanting sutras in the Buddhist hall - this was obviously Qi Yiyao, the eldest lady of the royal family.
Long Sen once mentioned that the eldest lady was a pure-hearted person who loved to read Buddhist scriptures. When she had free time, she would go to the Buddhist hall to copy Buddhist scriptures and recite Buddhist scriptures. Xiao Lou found that the girl had her eyes closed and the expression on her face was extremely calm, as if there was no world in the world.
Everything has nothing to do with her.
She was engaged to the eldest young master of the Lin family. The eldest young master Lin was out having sex with women and hanging out in brothels every day. I don't know if she was raised in a boudoir and never heard of it, or if she didn't care about her fiancé at all.
Xiao Lou was very confused.
This eldest lady is only 20 years old. At such a young age, she actually hides in the Buddhist hall and recites Buddhist sutras every day. It's so strange.
At this moment, a beautiful woman in gorgeous clothes suddenly came over and said, "Ayao, today is your father's birthday, why are you still here chanting sutras? Go back quickly, change your clothes, and dress up properly."
Qi Yiyao's hand that knocked the wooden fish paused slightly, and said calmly: "There are so many guests on my father's birthday every year. It's so lively that it doesn't matter whether I attend or not."
The woman's face changed after hearing this: "What are you talking about? You are the eldest daughter of the royal family, how can you not go to the prince's birthday banquet? Your three sisters will attend the banquet tonight, and the young master of the Lin family will also attend.
Come over soon, listen to mother, go change your clothes, and don't let the sisters compete."
After she said that, she grabbed her daughter's wrist and dragged her away by force.
Qi Yiyao followed her mother away expressionlessly.
Not far away, Miss Fourth and Liu Qiao passed by the Buddhist hall together and witnessed this scene.
Liu Qiao asked doubtfully: "Miss, don't you like the excitement?"
The soft voice of the Fourth Miss came over: "Well, my sister has been in poor health since she was a child. She suffered a serious illness and almost died. My father went to the temple outside Jiangzhou City to ask for an amulet, and asked the Master to raise her.
She was brought home when she was ten years old. She grew up in a temple when she was a child. After returning to the palace, she also asked her father to build a Buddhist temple. When she had free time, she would go to the Buddhist temple to copy scriptures and she didn't talk much to the rest of us."
Liu Qiao was a little curious: "Then why did she enter into an engagement with the eldest son of the Lin family?"
The fourth lady shook her head and said, "As children, we can only obey our parents' orders."
Liu Qiao was trying his best to find out the news. Xiao Lou was worried that his disappearance would be discovered, so he quickly left the Buddhist hall.
The maid waited for a long time, and when she saw Mrs. Yu coming out, she couldn't help but worry and asked: "Why has Madam been gone for so long?"
Xiao Lou smiled slightly and said, "Maybe it's because I had a bad meal in the morning and I don't feel well."
When he followed the maid back to the lotus pond, Lao Mo, who had gone to the front yard to investigate, had just returned, and the two exchanged glances.
The clues available before the case occurred were limited. Xiao Lou only saw the fourth and eldest young ladies in the backyard. He did not see the second young lady Shu'an Jun, nor the third young lady who had a boyish personality and loved martial arts.
Old Mo whispered: "I saw people from the Lin family coming, including the young master Lin."
Just at this time, Yu Hanjiang and the prince came out of the study, and Xiao Lou and Mo Xuemin greeted them.
The prince was very busy today, and there were many distinguished guests. He took the initiative to say, "I have something to do and leave for a while" and asked his entourage to take them to the side hall to settle down first. The three of them excused themselves sensibly, turned around and sat down in the side hall, waiting for the dinner to begin.
Soon, Shao Qingge also came in and sent several boxes of congratulatory gifts.
As the richest family in Daqi, the Shao family naturally received the most generous gifts among all the guests.
Today, Shao Qingge was wearing a gorgeous silk gown, full of nobility. After he walked into the side hall, he saw Yu Hanjiang, Xiao Lou and Mo Xuemin. He immediately came over to show off his acting skills: "Master Yu, what a coincidence, we are here again
We met."
Yu Hanjiang had no choice but to cooperate with him: "Master Shao, it is indeed a coincidence."
Shao Qingge sat next to Yu Hanjiang with a smile, covering his face with a fan, pretending to reminisce with Master Yu, but in fact he lowered his voice and said, "I just saw a person at the door."
Yu Hanjiang asked: "Who?"
Shao Qingge said: "Qu Wanyue."
Yu Hanjiang was startled, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief. The only one missing from their team was Qu Wanyue, and now Teacher Qu has also come to the Zhenjiang Palace. With everyone gathered together, the main event should begin soon.
Yu Hanjiang lowered his voice and asked, "What is her identity?"
Shao Qingge gloated: "A woman disguised herself as a man and turned into a handsome young man. When Long Sen saw his wife dressed in men's clothes, her jaw almost dropped, and her mouth was so big that she could swallow a duck egg."
Yu Hanjiang: “…………”
When will Mr. Shao's habit of taking pleasure in others' misfortune change?
Yu Hanjiang asked seriously: "Are you pretending to be a man, or have you become a man?"
Shao Qingge smiled and said: "She must be pretending. She is still a woman in this world, and she dresses as a man to facilitate her movement. There is also a woman who came with her, also dressed as a man. She has thin skin and tender flesh.
I don’t know who it is.”
Just as he was talking, he saw Qu Wanyue, dressed in men's clothing, and a handsome "young man" walking into the side hall side by side.
The two of them found an empty seat and sat down, drinking tea by themselves.
Qu Wanyue met Yu Hanjiang's eyes and nodded slightly towards him.
Xiao Lou also noticed Qu Wanyue, and then he saw another person sitting next to her. The person looked very familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere... Xiao Lou thought about it carefully, it was not him and Yu Hanjiang.
The princess I met when I was shopping in Kyoto?
Xiao Lou smiled softly and whispered in Yu Hanjiang's ear: "Ninth Princess, are you coming to see you?"
Rumor has it that Yu Hanjiang declined the late emperor's marriage proposal, and the Ninth Princess held a grudge against it. However, Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou have been married for four years. She is a princess, and there are many young talents who want to be a consort, so they can't let it go even now.
Bar?
Did Her Royal Highness the Princess come all the way to Jiangzhou just to find trouble? If this is the case, then the Princess is not just willful, but has a brain problem. Xiao Lou feels that things will not be that simple.
Worried about Xiao Lou's overthinking, Yu Hanjiang immediately explained: "I'm really not familiar with her, and we haven't spoken more than five sentences in total. Don't think too much about it. Her coming here is probably related to the plot."
Xiao Lou smiled and said: "Of course I believe you. Moreover, I also think that the princess will not come to Jiangzhou just to make trouble for us. A good show will be staged soon, let's wait and see what happens."
****
【Chapter 161, War in Troubled Times 11】
The Eighth Prince's birthday party officially started in the evening.
Everyone was invited to the backyard. Many round tables were set up in the open space next to the pond, and they were filled with sumptuous food. The guests took their seats one by one, and the prince and his three ladies sat at the head table.
It is said that the prince is very beautiful, and the three ladies do have their own characteristics. Mrs. Yun is dignified, Mrs. Qing is bright and charming, and Mrs. Han is delicate and gentle. Surrounded by beauties, the prince is smiling all over his face and seems to be in a good mood.
The people of Daqi are open, so there is no rule that women cannot show up. The three ladies are all here, but the four daughters have not shown up yet. Maybe they are preparing gifts for the prince?
Shao Qingge sat at the same table with distinguished guests from the Lin family.
Lin Shaobo, the eldest young master of the Lin family, is sitting next to him. This young master Lin did not drink today. Compared with the drunken dandy he saw in Tianxiang Tower the day before yesterday, the serious young master Lin is quite talented. He and the eldest son
The young lady is engaged and will be married next month. As the prince's son-in-law, he will of course attend his father-in-law's birthday. The gifts sent on behalf of the Lin family are also very impressive, and he has carried several boxes.
Lin Shaobo glanced at Shao Qingge and calmly lowered his head to drink tea, pretending not to recognize him.
Shao Qingge also gave him face and did not mention the matter of Tianxiang Tower.
There was a lot of drinking and drinking, and the palace was really lively tonight.
After drinking for three rounds, the show started. The girls from Tianxiang Tower were invited to come up. After a soft dance, the boss Aunt Qing said with a smile: "The next show is a brand new sword dance specially trained by our Tianxiang Tower.
Happy birthday to the prince!"
Shao Qingge discovered with sharp eyes that Ye Qi also appeared.
Tonight, Miss Ye changed her outfit. She wore a bright red floor-length skirt embroidered with golden threads. She also wore many pearl hairpins in her hair, which shone brightly under the candlelight.
As soon as the bright Tianxiang Loutou brand appeared, Shao Qingge almost got angry.
It's okay to dress festively when attending a birthday party, but it doesn't have to be so festive, right? Wear a hijab on your head and you can get married directly.
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang are also trying to hold back their laughter - poor Ye Qi, this dark history of dressing up as a woman will probably be remembered by everyone.
It was the first time Qu Wanyue saw Ye Qi dressed up like this, and she almost choked. She hurriedly covered her face with her sleeves and pretended to drink tea calmly. However, the Ninth Princess next to her was very interested and said: "This girl is very beautiful, Tianxiang
Where is the building?"
Qu Wanyue forced herself to remain calm and explained in a low voice: "It is the largest singing and dancing studio in Jiangzhou. The women here are all about performing arts rather than selling themselves. They rely on their talents to make a living."
The Ninth Princess thought thoughtfully: "They want to perform the sword dance, right? I remember you can do it too. I wonder if the sword dance performed by these people is as beautiful as yours?"
Qu Wanyue smiled and said: "Princess, I'm sorry, I only know a little bit about it."
While the two were chatting, music was already playing on Ye Qi's side.
Today he was responsible for accompaniment with the pipa. Next to him were two beauties who were harmonizing. The three of them sat in the pavilion. As the melodious music played, five women in red dresses held long swords and danced in the open space.
Seeing them drawing their swords at the same time, the palace guards immediately stood in front of the prince.
The Eighth Prince smiled and waved his hand: "Everyone, please step back. This is just a sword dance to add to the fun."
The guards then retreated, and everyone stared nervously at the woman dancing the sword, fearing that the sword tip would accidentally hit her.
These five women all wore red veils. The postures of the sword dance were elegant and neat. Every time they swung the long sword, it was as easy as a snake coming out of its hole. Furthermore, they moved very neatly to the rhythm of the music. It was obvious that
I trained for a long time.
The music played by Ye Qi gradually changed from melodious and melodious to rapid and passionate, like a falling stream stirring up thousands of waves.
The dance of the five women also became better and better, their movements became faster and faster, and the five swords danced into a beautiful ball of sword flowers, which dazzled the guests.
The Eighth Prince took the lead in applauding, and the guests followed suit.
In the warm applause, the formation instantly dispersed, and the four women suddenly flew up. The four people gathered at the center of the field from the east, south, west, and north directions. The tips of the four swords made a precise "rub" sound.
Meet in one place!
The remaining woman jumped up, her toes like a dragonfly touching the water, and stepped on the intersection of the four swords. Her body was suspended in the air, standing on one foot, and she performed an elegant "white crane spreading its wings" movement.
"Okay!" The applause around him became more and more enthusiastic.
The sword dance performed by these five people really opened the eyes of the guests.
However, Xiao Lou clenched his fingers nervously, feeling uneasy in his heart.
Those five swords reminded him of the assassin in the early hours of the day before yesterday. They were also long swords with no obvious features. The tip of the sword was coated with poison and scratched Yu Hanjiang's back. Just thinking about the wound made Xiao Lou nervous.
There is lingering fear in my heart.
It is normal for dignitaries to invite people to perform dances on their birthdays, but the sword dance... Xiao Lou always felt it was unlucky.
Suddenly, he met a pair of eyes.
The woman who was posing like a white crane spreading its wings in the air suddenly became extremely cold in her eyes. She stepped hard on her foot and with the help of the elasticity of the four swords, her whole body shot out like a sharp arrow and flew towards the prince!
The sharp sword tip pierced the prince's chest!
Mrs. Yun was shocked: "There is an assassin! Hurry, protect the prince!"
With such a shout, she hid better than anyone else, and immediately dodged and hid behind a guard.
The other two ladies were also frightened and stood on the spot.
The prince looked calm. At the moment when the woman's sword was almost pierced through his chest, he suddenly knocked over the wine utensils on the table, picked up a silver bowl and covered the sword accurately, and waved his right hand violently.
——
The strong force on his arm actually knocked the woman's sword away in an instant!
There was a burst of exclamation among the guests.
The woman dropped her weapon, immediately pulled out the sharp hairpin on her head, and stabbed the prince in the throat!
Two people were fighting together, and the woman was vicious in her moves. The prince was able to deal with it with ease. I didn't expect that the prince was so powerful in martial arts.
Several nursing staff rushed over and surrounded the woman. When the woman saw that the assassination failed, she cast a cold look in her eyes, jumped up, climbed to the roof like a flying goose, and disappeared into the night in the blink of an eye.
The prince said coldly: "Chase!"
Several guards immediately flew up to the roof to chase the assassin. The banquet became chaotic. Ye Qi, who was playing the piano, was also a little confused - he never expected that an assassin would come out of Tianxiang Tower and assassinate the prince in public!
The prince's face looked ugly, and he immediately asked the boss of Tianxiang Tower to come out and speak.
Aunt Qing's legs were so frightened that she knelt down in front of the prince with a thud: "Your Majesty, spare your life! It's none of the business of civilian girls. I don't know that woman just now. Really... none of our girls in Tianxiang Tower know martial arts!"
The other four women performing the sword dance also dropped their swords and knelt on the ground side by side, trembling.
Ye Qi and the two people playing in the distance had no choice but to kneel down in the pavilion.
Ye Qi was about to die of depression - who could be more unlucky than him? When he came to this world, he was thrown into the Tianxiang Tower for no apparent reason. As a result, an assassin appeared in the team on the day of the prince's birthday party, and they were all going to be implicated.
In ancient times, assassinating a prince was a serious crime of beheading!
The assassin was mixed up in the singing and dancing team of Tianxianglou, and their relationship in Tianxianglou was unclear. If they encountered an unreasonable prince and just pulled them all down and beheaded him, wouldn't it be very unfair to him?
How about you play by ear later and just use the teleport card to escape?
Ye Qi was struggling, but the next moment, he heard the prince calmly say: "Someone in Jiangzhou City dares to assassinate my king in public. Master Yu, you must find out about this matter and give me an explanation."
The case was actually handed over to Yu Hanjiang?
Ye Qi was stunned for a moment, but soon became happy. It would be great to leave it to Master Yu. At least he wouldn't have to suffer physical pain.
Yu Hanjiang immediately took a step forward: "Yes, Your Majesty, I will do my best." He glanced at the entire audience and said coldly: "Come here, take all the girls from Tianxiang Tower to the prison to await trial!"
A group of guards and government servants rushed up and escorted away all the Tianxiang Tower personnel present.
Xiao Lou didn't expect that things would develop like this.
He had always thought that the relationship within the palace was mixed, and that something might have happened to a few ladies or ladies. Unexpectedly, at the prince's birthday party, someone actually assassinated him in public. The prince even handed the case over to the Jiangzhou prefect... Is this the case of the 8 of Hearts?
?Tracing the Assassin Organization?
Xiao Lou's intuition is not that simple.
He recalled carefully, and all he remembered about the assassin was that she was a woman, wearing a red dress, about 1.7 meters tall, with cold eyes, and a face covered with a veil, making it difficult to distinguish the facial features.
How to find this in the huge crowd?
Just as I was thinking about it, suddenly, a scream sounded in the distance: "Ah - it's not good!"
It was the call of the maid.
Yu Hanjiang immediately looked over there. The prince also frowned and asked in a deep voice: "What happened?"
A maid ran over in a panic, her feet stumbling, she was obviously frightened, and her voice was trembling: "Your Majesty, the eldest lady...the eldest lady, she..."
When Mrs. Yun heard her daughter, her expression suddenly changed: "What's wrong with the eldest lady?"
The maid cried and knelt down: "The eldest lady hanged herself on the tree in the backyard!"
Xiao Lou: “…………”
The eldest lady? Is she the girl he saw in the afternoon, banging the wooden fish and chanting sutras in the Buddhist hall?!
Xiao Lou didn't expect that it would be her who died!
The woman just assassinated the prince, which attracted everyone's attention to him, and the banquet was in chaos. As a result, the prince was not injured at all, but something happened to the eldest lady in the chaos.
Hang yourself?
How could she, a daughter of a royal family, hang herself?
Xiao Lou's eyes quickly scanned the entire audience.
Young Master Lin, who was engaged to her, was not present, and neither were the Second Miss, the Third Miss, and the Fourth Miss.
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang looked at each other, and at the same time said to each other with their eyes: "It's murder."